Google announces changes to mobile search algorithm

Google have revealed the date of the latest algorithm update giving everyone the opportunity to prepare to make your website all responsive. The unusual thing about the announcement is that Google used the words ‘significant changes’ They have also named the date of 21st of April the date changes will be implemented.

What does this change?

More and more people are using the mobile devices to access the internet and it’s time Google’s algorithm changed and adapted to these changes, so the users get relevant and high quality results.

Google have also revealed that this forthcoming mobile ranking will label websites as mobile-friendly and they will adjusting their ranking appropriately. If your is all mobile compatible you will soon see a benefit from higher ranking in mobile search results, however if your site is not responsive, you could potentially experience a decrease in search ranking.

At the moment it looks like it will only effect mobile search rankings when someone uses Google to search for your website. It’s suspected in the future mobile-friendliness of websites will also impact on desktop rankings.

The use of mobile devices to access the web has increased by 67% worldwide over the last 12 months according to Statcounter and this will continue to grow.Google have also said that 62% of people are unlikely to return to a mobile site if they had trouble viewing it.

After Google has crawled the pages of your website, the site will be labelled as mobile- friendly and will significantly benefit from the algorithm changes.

Is there a way you can check if your site is mobile-friendly?

To find out if you have a Mobile-friendly website. Google have a tool you can test your site. Enter your web page URL into the search box and Google will provide you with the results of the test.

If your site is not prepared for the new algorithm changes, contact us today and we will help you make the transition to responsive.